West End's WICKED, UK Tour Break Box Office Records

WICKED, the award-winning musical that tells the untold story of the Witches of Oz, was seen by 45,000 people in the UK last week (ending 3 January 2015), grossing an incredible £2,160,377.50, at Box Offices in London and Edinburgh and breaking its own previous records in both the West End and on its UK & Ireland Tour:

· The London production set a new Box Office record at the Apollo Victoria Theatre with 9 sell-out shows and a gross of £1,023,819.00. Its previous record (of £1,002,885 for week ending 1 January 2011) also marked the first time in West End history that any production had grossed over £1 million in a single week.

· Now the 10th longest-running show in the West End, Wicked has been seen by more than 6 million people in London and will soon play its landmark 3500th performance.

· The spectacular UK & Ireland Tour grossed £1,136,558.50 at the Edinburgh Playhouse*, with 8 sell-out shows, marking the highest grossing week to date of its entire multi record-breaking tour. The previous record was set at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton (with a gross of £886,343.75 for week ending

2 November 2014). This record has subsequently been broken 6 times at the Edinburgh Playhouse.

· The UK & Ireland Tour has already taken £50 million since its premiere in Manchester in September 2013 and will conclude in July 2015 with a return to the Greater Manchester area (to The Lowry in Salford), following upcoming engagements in Plymouth, Bristol, Sunderland and Aberdeen.

UK Executive Producer Michael McCabe said: "We are greatly indebted to our extremely talented and hard working companies who have contributed to another hugely successful year for Wicked in London and on tour, and we thank the 45,000 theatregoers who made these extraordinary Box Office records possible last week".

Recently acclaimed as "one of the greatest musicals of our time" (Daily Mail), Wicked has been seen by 44 million people in 13 countries and won 100 international awards. The original Broadway production remains "Broadway's biggest blockbuster" (The New York Times) after more than 11 years at the Gershwin Theatre.

Wicked has music and lyrics by multi GRAMMY and Academy Award winner Stephen Schwartz, a book by Winnie Holzman, musical staging by Wayne Cilento and is directed by two-time Tony Award winner and Olivier Award nominee Joe Mantello. Wicked is based on the novel 'Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West' by Gregory Maguire.